In a continuing effort to improve the quality of shipping fruits, we, the inventors, typically hybridize a large number of nectarine, peach, plum, apricot, and cherry seedlings each year. The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of nectarine tree, which has been denominated varietally as .-+.Summer Blush". The present variety was hybridized in 1985 by us in a cultivated area of our experimental orchard at Bradford Farms near Le Grand, Calif. in Merced County (San Joaquin Valley). It was the result of an unnamed nectarine seedling as the selected seed parent and another unnamed nectarine seedling as the selected pollen parent. This unnamed pollen parent resulted from a cross of Red Diamond Nectarine (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 3,165) and Aurora Grand Nectarine (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 4,792). Subsequent to origination of the present variety of nectarine tree, we asexually reproduced it by budding and grafting, and such reproduction of plant and fruit characteristics were true to the original plant in all respects.
The fruit produced by the present variety is most similar to that of the August Red Nectarine (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 6,363) by being large in size, very firm in texture, and clingstone in type, but is distinguished therefrom and an improvement thereon by producing fruit that is full red in skin color over the entire fruit surface, that is sweeter in flavor, and that ripens 12 days earlier.
The present variety is similar to both of its pollen grandparents, the Red Diamond (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 3,165) and the Aurora Grand (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 4,792), in fruit appearance by being a full red colored nectarine with excellent firmness, but is very distinguished therefrom by producing fruit that is clingstone instead of freestone and that ripens approximately 42 to 70 days later, respectively.